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The field of architecture started with a very simple idea; let's put a roof over our head. It was the idea of shelter. Controlling our environment. Putting something between us and the elements. Quite simply, to keep the rain out.

I overheard someone the other day getting upset about the overuse of symmetry. "Not everything needs to be symmetrical!" this person cried. This is certainly true. Not everything needs to be symmetrical. But it doesn't need to be asymmetrical either, does it? When faced with tough, potentially life-altering, theoretical questions such as these I usually turn to one source for answers...

The coast of Maine is roughly 230 miles as the black-capped chickadee flies. However, coastline paradox aside, you'd have to travel about 3,500 miles if you wanted to see every nook and cranny of the Pine Tree State's craggy coast. This glacier-formed coastline is full of beautiful bays, peninsulas, inlets, points, and islands. This jagged coastline creates a very intimate coastline with plenty of hidden gems. One such hidden gem is a quaint porch situated on a point overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.

Roger C. Taylor knows boats. Born and raised in Rhode Island in a maritime family, I imagine he could probably sail before he could walk. Mr. Taylor would go on to become Editor-in-Chief of the Naval Institute Press, and eventually found International Marine Publishing with the goal of creating "good books about boats." I had the opportunity to talk with Roger about the design of good boats. Both the science and the art of good boats, and how that science and art is being handicapped by a strange set of scenarios.

Mental Floss has a great article that uncovers some of the hidden design decisions made that influence the users of an airport. It is a fascinating look at how subtle designs can have consistent effects on how we all interact with a building.

The transportation network is often referred to as the "bones" of a city. It is easy to understand why; the streets form the underlying structure of a city, much like the bones form the underlying structure of the human body. The term has another side to it though; referring to the permanence of the network, and the difficulty in changing those bones of the city. When a route is laid on the earth, it is likely to remain through time and development. You can see this process occurring throughout the world; from the many roads and city plans of the ancient Roman empire still in use today to the famous Broadway that cuts through Manhattan's grid, originally a Native American trade path through the island.

The role of the architect in modern culture is murky, at best. The profession is often misunderstood, undervalued, or deemed a luxury for the wealthy. Why is this? Where did the profession go wrong? Can it be redeemed?